Porsche to invest 1.1 billion euros for German factory updates

German luxury sports car manufacturer Porsche will use 1.1 billion euros through the end of the decade to update its home base production and research facilities to be able to build more models.

Porsche, owned by Volkswagen AG, the largest automaker in Europe and the second biggest in the world, is in the midst of construction work for a new engine facility and body shop at its main plant in Zuffenhausen, in southern Germany, scheduled to take over the production of the Cayman line from VW in 2016, manufacturing them alongside the 911 and Boxster models. “Porsche is facing great challenges like all carmakers,” commented chief executive officer Matthias Mueller, reffering to fuel-efficient technology and digitalization. “That’s why we examine and improve all processes and set the future course in time.” The new investment is an integral part of a large agreement delivered by Porsche’s management board and labour leaders on Wednesday, protecting jobs at Zuffenhausen, the R&D centre in Weissach and at sales operations in Ludwigsburg, which houses around 13,000 employees, according to a labor leader.

Porsche, next to larger luxury peer Audi is the main contributor to parent VW’s profit, and has envisioned a rollout strategy that calls for a seventh model to be introduced by 2020 – though there is no final decision on the vehicle to be produced yet. The Stuttgart-based brand has targeted sales of at least 200,000 units for the first time in its history for 2015, thanks to booming demand for the Macan compact sport-utility vehicle it unveiled back in 2014.